Arizona - Day 3 Part 3 - Wupatki National Monument

After the Sunset Crater National Monument, we continued on our drive.  We drove from the relative coolness of the higher elevation to a lower elevation and hotter temperatures.  We really wanted to see the Wupatki Native American ruins.

From August 2011

This dwelling is the largest, it has about 100 rooms. 

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Talia...

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In the background is the ball court, where they used to play a game that seemed to me a combination of football, rugby, and basketball....

The "blowhole"

From August 2011

This is a crack in the earth's crust that "breathes", for lack of a better word.  Depending on air pressure, the hole either breathes cold air out, or sucks in air from the atmosphere.  On this day it was blowing out, and the air was as cold as any air conditioning.  Talia had great fun letting her braids float over the grate...
I wish I had taken a picture of the little information plaque that was there.  No one knows if there is a connection between the Native Americans building this large settlement at this blowhole, or if it's just coincidence...or what it was used for. 

My kids in one of the rooms

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Changeable weather...

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After our long drive and hikes, we were all dirty and starving.  We got cleaned up a bit, and headed to a local steakhouse with an interesting twist...

Black Barts. 

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The waiters and waitresses don't only take orders, they also all sing...sometimes solo, sometimes big group numbers...it was so much fun! 
This was our main waiter

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The ambiance was great!

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And the food was pretty good too.  We enjoyed a relaxed evening, and then headed back to prep for the trip home in the morning...

Arizona - Day 3, Part 2

When Cole got home, we ate lunch then headed out.  We drove to the Sunset Crater, a very large Volcanic cinder cone mountain.  They no longer allow you to hike the actual Sunset Crater, but they do allow you to hike up the Lennox Crater, a smaller cindercone.  We decided we wanted to hike to the top of it...

From August 2011

It's a really steep hike, 1/2 a mile almost straight up. 

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About halfway up...so proud of my family!

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At the top...it's amazing to me that even after 1000 years, still the only thing that really grows are the pines...

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It was a short but  intense hike, I really enjoyed it.  I also enjoyed that my kids took it as a challenge rather than just something I was making them do...

We drove all around the area, looking at all the lava formations...

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Then we hiked around the 1.5 mile lava trail...it was an easier trail, with little dips and hills, but nothing major. 

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It was really neat, the kids were interested, and we weren't done yet...

Arizona - Day 3 Part 1

Cole only had to work a 1/2 day on our final day in Arizona, so I needed something to do with my kids in the morning.  On our walk the night before we had seen a hiking trail going up the hill, so I decided that we would go exploring.  The kids were really excited to use their new hydration packs, and I was excited to do something really active (I'd missed my runs during this vacation week). 

The weather was beautiful...

From August 2011

My little hikers..

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I wanted a picture with me in it, so I had Kyle take one...then Alec wanted to take one too...

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We hiked along the trail until I got a text from Cole saying he was headed back. 
Talia loved her hydration pack...

From August 2011

From August 2011

We had a really good morning. 

Road Trip...Arizona Day 1

After Talia threw up most the night, and I'd only had 3 hours of sleep, I was a little nervous about the drive to Arizona.  After all, St. George is easy, you pretty much follow I-15 the entire way, but I was going to have to navigate roads I'd never traveled before...by myself, with a sick child in the backseat.  I had printed directions from St. George to Flagstaff before I left home, so I put Kyle in the backseat with Talia in case she needed to throw up, and Alec got to ride in the front seat (he was thrilled).  We finally got on the road at lunchtime.  I had prepared the kids sandwiches to eat in the car to save time.  The boys ate, but Talia only wanted a few sips of water (which was fine, because water is better if she was going to puke again). 

Once we had been on the road awhile, I realized that the directions I had printed were taking me through Zion's National Park...with it's $25 entrance fee.  At that point, It would have taken me so much time to turn around and go back, that I decided just to pay the fee and drive through.  It was slow going, but it was a beautiful drive. 

From August 2011

I would have liked to have stopped and taken more pictures, but my sweetheart was so listless in the backseat, I didn't dare.  It made me realize I definitely want to go back there someday...at a cooler time of year :)

After that, my directions were perfect.  We drove past Lake Powell, and it was so beautiful...I'd forgotten how much.  Talia had napped on and off during the drive, but when we got to Lake Powell she was crying really for no reason, and I could tell she really needed to eat something.  I couldn't tempt her with anything we had in the car, so we stopped at a gas station and bought a treat for everyone.  She got her favorite "Crunchy Cookies" (Reese's PB cups) and once she got some sugar in her system, she felt a lot better.  It was a long drive, with lots of stop and go traffic due to construction.  We didn't get to our hotel until 6ish local time (7 Utah time).  We basically got some dinner, put on our swimsuits, and let the kids swim for awhile.  I sat in the hot tub (which was heavenly), and after a few minutes, all our kids wanted to do was sit in there with Cole and I.  Everyone was wiped out, so we all crashed into bed.  It was fantastic to have our family all together again.